TUCSON, Ariz. – The Arizona Wildcats will kick off the 2017-18 season by hosting the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks on Friday, Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. inside McKale Center. Friday's season opener is the first of a three-game home stand for UA to start the season before heading to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament.

Arizona vs. Northern Arizona
Friday, Nov. 10 at 6:00 p.m. (MST)
TV: Pac-12 Network (Jim Watson & Matt Muehlebach)
Radio: Arizona IMG Radio Network (Brian Jeffries & Ryan Hansen)
Twitter: @APlayersProgram
#BearDown
 
Arizona opens the 2017-18 season by welcoming in-state foes, the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, to McKale Center. UA is 8-0 in the opening game of the season under head coach Sean Miller and 30-9 since joining the Pac-12 Conference prior to the 1978-79 season.

Senior point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright will be making his 100^th career appearance on Friday evening. He's started in 16 of his 99 games played with 1,823 minutes of action in his career.

The Wildcats will look to defend their 40-game non-conference home winning streak. Arizona has not lost a non-conference game in McKale Center since the start of the 2012-13 season. A win on Friday would match the longest non-conference home winning streak in program history, tying the 41 consecutive non-conference home wins from 1972 to 1978.

UA dispatched Eastern New Mexico and Chico State in a pair of exhibitions by an average margin of 33.0 points per victory last week. Freshman Deandre Ayton finished exhibition play by averaging 26 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 19 of 25 (.760) from the field at 13 of 14 (.929) at the free throw line.

Allonzo Trier and Deandre Ayton have earned spots on preseason all-american teams. Ayton was a Third Team All-American selection by ESPN while Trier was voted to ESPN's First Team All-America. The Seattle, Wash. native was also named to the AP's five-man Preseason All-American Team. Trier became Arizona's first AP Preseason All-American since Jason Gardner and Luke Walton in 2002-03.

Arizona is 252-109 (.698) in its history versus the three other NCAA Division I programs in the Grand Canyon State. The Cats are 97-27 versus NAU, 150-82 against Arizona State and 5-0 versus Grand Canyon. UA's 78.2 winning percentage in the series with the Lumberjacks also includes 31 consecutive victories going back to 1970 with the 2007 win later vacated.